


Never Drive Faster Than Your Guardian Angel Can Fly

by Thursdays_Angel



Series: Being Human [5]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Discovery, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-21
Updated: 2014-07-21
Packaged: 2018-02-09 21:22:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1998294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thursdays_Angel/pseuds/Thursdays_Angel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean teaches Castiel how to drive. Things don't end how they expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Drive Faster Than Your Guardian Angel Can Fly

            Castiel rode with Dean in the Impala while the Hunter drove them out to an area of Sioux Falls that Castiel had not been to before. He said that he wanted to teach Castiel another aspect of being human but Dean had yet to tell him what that was.

            Castiel watched the scenery to by. They had driven through town. Many people were out enjoying the warm weather and sunshine. They passed a play ground where parents had brought their children. He could hear the young ones as they played with one another. He loved children, if he had access to his grace he would be able to see their bright souls. Though no human he had encountered had a soul as bright as Dean’s. Dean’s soul shone like an angel’s grace.

            As they moved further away from town buildings gave way to woods and grassland in some areas.

            After another twenty minutes or so he realized they were no longer in Sioux Falls. He turned his gaze away from the window towards Dean. The hunter was drumming a beat on the steering wheel. It matched to the song playing on the radio. He didn’t know what it was called but he liked it.

            “Where are we going Dean?”

            “We’re almost there,” Dean looked at him briefly before returning his gaze to the road.

            Castiel decided to simply wait and see. He could tell by the look in Dean’s eyes that he wasn’t going to get an answer.

            Luckily for him he didn’t have to wait for long. Dean pulled the Impala into what looked like an empty lot of an abandoned building. The vehicle came to a stop. Castiel looked at their surroundings. He didn’t understand why they were here.

            “Are we hunting something?” The landscape looked to be the perfect place for such a thing. Also, ever since his grace had been bound Dean had not gone hunting. Castiel felt bad about that. It simply reminded him that he was currently nothing but a burden to Dean and Bobby.

            “What, no,” Dean said with a shake of his head. “Though this does look like it would be a good place for that. But that’s not why we’re here.” He shut the vehicle off. When he turned to face Castiel there was a large grin plastered on his face. “Today I’m teaching you how to drive.”

            Castiel blinked at Dean unsure if he had heard right. Silence permeated the vehicle, long enough that Dean’s smile began to falter. “You… want me… to drive?” Did he truly sound as nervous as he felt?

            “Well, yeah,” Dean replied, smile returning. “We don’t know exactly how long this is gonna last.” He was beginning to look self-conscious. “I thought you’d want to be able to just go somewhere on your own. Jimmy’s driver’s license is still valid. I didn’t think you’d want to have to ask me to drive you somewhere if you wanted to get out.”

            Castiel looked down at his hands. So he was a burden.

            “I’m not saying I mind taking you places,” Dean added hastily. Castiel glanced over and saw the blush which had colored the hunter’s face. “It’s just… An independence thing, you know?”

            Castiel had not truly appreciated his ability to go anywhere he pleased at will until he no longer could. Driving wouldn’t be the same, not by a long shot, but he would try. For Dean’s sake. “All right,” he said, trying to keep his nervousness from filtering in to his voice. “What do I have to do?”

            “First, we need to switch places.” Dean undid his seat belt and got out of the Impala.

            Castiel followed suite moving around the front of the vehicle and taking Dean’s place in the driver’s seat. Like he had on the other side of the car, he buckled his seat belt. Castiel felt his nervousness increase. His hands started to shake slightly, feeling similar to when he had had too much caffeine.

            “Now normally when you get in a car they key won’t be in the ignition,” Dean started to explain. He pointed to where his keys hung in an area before Castiel. “Each car has a key made specifically for it. Now when you turn the key the car will turn over. Once you hear the engine start let go of the key. Go ahead and turn her over.”

            Castiel took a steadying breath and did as he was told. The Impala roared to life. He quickly let go of the key. Castiel felt a smile pull at his lips.

            “Great,” Dean turned down the radio. “Okay, so. See the long leaver on the right side of the steering column?”

            Castiel looked, pointing to the lever he found. “This?”

            “Yep. Now,” Dean reached over and pointed to an area behind the wheel which had gages of some king displayed. “This is the dash board. You see the area with the P, R, N, D, one and two?” Castiel nodded. “That is where your gears are displayed. Right now you only have to worry about the first four. The P is for park, R for reverse, N for neutral, and D for drive. You also have the speedometer and a few other gages. Only worry about the speedometer for now.”

            “Which one is the… speedometer?”

            Dean pointed to the gage above the letters. “This one. This tells you your speed. As you can see it shows in five mile intervals. For now you probably won’t be going over thirty-five.

            “The lever on the left of the steering column is for your turn signals, windshield wipers and head lights. Again, don’t need to worry about those right this second. Though for the turn signals push the lever up for right and down for left.”

            Castiel nodded, taking in all of the information Dean was giving him. It seemed easy enough, really. _So why do I feel as if my insides are turning?_ he thought.

            Dean’s tone was one of utmost patience. It was strange for Castiel. He knew Dean had patience, when he wanted it, but ever since he had been bound Dean had been nothing but patient in everything he taught him. Actually Dean seemed excited whenever he was teaching Castiel something new about being human.

            He realized his nervousness was causing his breaths to come in short bursts. He had no reason to be acting as he was. He deepened his breaths, feeling himself begin to calm.

            “You good?” Dean asked.

            Castiel nodded, “Yes, my apologies.”

            “It’s fine.” Dean replied with a wave of his hand. “A lot of people get nervous the first time they drive. I know I freaked.”

            “This is a right of passage for humans correct?”

            “Sort of,” Dean shrugged. “New cars have a safety feature which won’t allow you to move the shifter without putting the break down. The Impala doesn’t have that but it’s a good practice. You see those peddles on the floor?”

            Castiel leaned back and looked towards his feet. There were two peddles that he could see. One long and one wide.

            “The one on the left is the brake and the gas is on the right. The gas can be a little sensitive so just ease onto it when you get going. To put the car in drive pull the shift towards you and down. You’ll see the orange line by the ‘P’ move. Stop when it’s at the ‘D’. Don’t forget to hold the brake down.”

            Taking the wheel in his hands like he had seen Dean do before he used his left foot to hold down the brake. He then reached for the shift, doing as Dean had instructed. He felt a slight difference in the Impala’s tone when it was in drive. Carefully he pressed down on the gas.

            The engine roared and the tires spun, a high pitched screech came from somewhere. Yet they did not go anywhere.

            “Whoa, stop!” Dean yelled over the sound of the screeching tires.

            Immediately Castiel took his feet off the peddles. The Impala lurched forward. He pressed on the brake, causing the vehicle to stop. He glanced at Dean out of the corner of his eyes. He knew Dean loved his car, probably more than he should. Castiel hoped he hadn’t broken it.

            “Um,” Dean leaned over for a second. “Sorry, that was my fault. I didn’t think to tell you… Baby’s an automatic, if she was a standard there would be three peddles. It all has to do with the transmission, which you don’t need to know so don’t worry about it. What you do need to know is that you only use your left foot when driving a standard so that you can press down on the clutch.”

            “I use my right foot for both the brake and gas?”

            “Yeah, as I said, my fault. I just assumed you would know.” He shrugged, “You know what they say about people who assume.”

            Castiel’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “No, what do they say?”

            Dean opened his mouth to answer then shook his head. “Let’s try this again huh?”

            Castiel gave a quick nod, placing his hands back on the wheel. He took a breath to steady himself and took his foot off of the brake. Gently he placed it on the gas. The Impala went forward. With no idea where they were going he tried to keep the vehicle as straight as he could.

            “Turn when you get towards the end of the pavement.”

            “Which direction?”

            “Doesn’t matter really, though I’d go right. More room. And Baby doesn’t exactly turn on a dime.”

            Castiel turned his head to look at Dean. “Turn on a dime?”

            “Eyes forward Cass!”

            Castiel instantly turned his gaze forward, which was good because the vehicle had started to drift. Castiel gently turned the wheel to correct. If this was all there was to driving then it didn’t seem too hard.

            When he was near the end of the pavement Castiel turned the wheel to the right like Dean had instructed. The Impala didn’t instantly turn like he thought it would, instead only slightly drifting in that direction. He turned the wheel further and finally the Impala turned.

            “Just so you know, you want to slow down when you’re making turns. Right now you’re fine since you’re not going very fast. There’s also a lot of things you’ll have to watch for when you’re on the road. Other vehicles, people, animals, weather conditions—”

            “Weather conditions?”

            “Ice in the winter for example. Ice is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, hazard during the winter. All vehicles slip and slide on it.”

            Castiel listened as Dean continued with his explanations, learning about the rules of the road, what various signs meant. Apparently a yellow light did not mean to slow down but to try and get passed before the light turned red. From the grin on Dean’s face as he told him this Castiel figured that it wasn’t true.

            Castiel drove around the abandoned lot, making laps and doing as Dean instructed. After about an hour Dean had him stop. “Do you want to try out on the road for a bit?”

            Castiel had been fine with going around the lot. The thought of going out with other vehicles made him a little uneasy.

            “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Dean said, seeming to sense Castiel’s discomfort.

            “I would like to try,” Castiel replied after a few moments of thought.

            “All right.”

            Dean gave directions and soon enough Castiel found himself going fifty-five miles per-hour down a few back roads. There were only a few other cars on the road.

            Everything was going fine until a red car came up behind them and stayed too close for Castiel’s comfort. His fingers were beginning to hurt from gripping the wheel too hard. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest. His nerves were getting him again.

            “Breathe Cass,” Dean said, having noticed the white knuckle grip. “We’ll be fine. Besides, there’s a stop sign coming up. We’ll turn down another road.”

            Castiel could see the red sign with the word ‘STOP’ written across it. Looking in the rear view mirror he saw that the red car had backed off. He gave an internal sigh of relief, starting to break when he was close enough to the sign.

            The Impala came to a stop, only to jolt forward suddenly. Castiel hit his head on the steering wheel hard enough to have spots dance in his vision. He cried out from shock, surprise and pain.

            “Son of a bitch!” Dean cursed.

            Castiel rubbed his forehead, already feeling a lump forming. His head hurt and he tasted blood.

            “Are you okay Cass?”

            Castiel nodded, “Yes Dean. Are you—”

            Dean climbed out of the Impala before Castiel could finish his question. He didn’t know what he had done wrong. Twisting around in his seat he saw the red car pressed against the Impala’s back end. Dean was yelling at the driver of the other vehicle.

            Castiel placed the Impala in park and shut the vehicle off. Gingerly he climbed out as well. A wave of dizziness hit him and he gripped the door to keep from falling over. He turned towards Dean and the other driver, a young man by the look of him.

            “You obviously weren’t paying attention,” Dean was yelling. “You’re just lucky no one was seriously hurt.

            “Dean,” Castiel’s voice sounded weak to his ears but apparently Dean had heard him since he turned.

            A look of alarm crossed the hunter’s face. “Cass?” Castiel tipped his head in confusion but it felt as if his head kept falling. “Cass!”

            The world around him went dark.

* * *

            When Castiel opened his eyes again a faint light illuminated the room he was occupying at Bobby’s house. His head still hurt something fierce.

            “Welcome back Sleeping Beauty.”

            Dean’s voice was low and Castiel turned his head to see the hunter sitting in a chair beside the bed.

            “What happened?”

            “You passed out,” Dean replied. “I thought you were concussed at first from hitting your head on the wheel. You do have a pretty nasty lump but you’ll be fine.”

            Castiel remembered driving and coming to a stop then something causing the Impala to jolt forward suddenly. “I’m sorry.”

            Dean looked confused, “For what?”

            Castiel looked away, gazing up at the ceiling. “Your vehicle. I—”

            “Cass,” Dean interrupted. “That wasn’t your fault. You did everything right. You’re actually a pretty good driver for your first time. No, the fault lies with the idiot teenager who would rather make out with his girlfriend than pay attention to the road.”

            “But, the Impala…”

            “She’s made of strong stuff. She’s barely got a bump. Unlike the plastic piece of crap that hit her.” When Castiel chanced a glance at Dean he saw the hunter smiling. “It’s nothing I can’t fix. Couple years back we were hit by a semi, totaled Baby.” A shadow crossed his features at the memory. Castiel suspected there was more to it but he didn’t press for information. “If I can bring her back from that then a little fender bender is nothing. I’m more concerned about you.”

            Now Castiel was confused, “Why?”

            “Cass, you passed out and you’ve been asleep ever since. I’m sorry I didn’t see it before but, when was the last time you slept?”

            “Just now.”

            Dean shook his head. “You need to sleep Cass.”

            “You do not need much sleep.”

            “True, but I’m used to it. You’re not. Why aren’t you sleeping?”

            Castiel turned on his side, facing Dean, to get more comfortable. “I need to stay awake.”

            “Why? What do you do at night?”

            Though Castiel did not have access to his powers he was still able to move about just as silently as before. Something he knew annoyed the hunter. He would search through the books in Bobby’s study looking for ways to defeat Lucifer. “Research,” he replied simply.”

            “Why do you need to do research at oh dark thirty?”

            Castiel didn’t understand the reference. “To be useful. I’m useless like this Dean. You haven’t hunted since I became human-”

            “Temporarily.”

            “-and I feel I must do something to make myself less of a burden to you and Bobby.”

            Dean’s gaze and tone softened. “You’re not a burden Cass.” He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “I’m looking at this as a little vacation. Yeah, we’re still looking for a way to ice the devil but right now that’s not my main concern. I’ve got something more important to take care of at the moment.”

            Castiel felt his eyes becoming heavy again. His whole body seemed to sag into the bed. Vaguely he heard Dean moving around then felt the blanket being tucked around him once more. A hand ran through his hair and he reached his hand up to grab Dean’s.

            “Thank you Dean.”

            “Go to sleep Cass,” Dean whispered.

            Castiel fell asleep, completely oblivious to Dean’s continued vigil over him.


End file.
